On 24 July, at around 14:30, the Lepenec near Karpoš, at the point where it flows into the Vardar, turned white. The river was covered in thick white foam. A week has passed and the question of who discharged it still has no answer with a name attached.

Unofficially it is a chemical used in detergent production. "Unofficially" is the key word in that sentence.

What the institutions say

The State Environmental Inspectorate announced it had immediately undertaken extraordinary inspection and laboratory work in coordination with all competent institutions. Extraordinary inspections were carried out at industrial facilities in the area under state jurisdiction - and, as they put it, no irregularities were established. Every entity checked was operating in line with the conditions of its environmental permit.

The Skopje public utility for water and sewerage took samples and submitted a preliminary report to the Environment Ministry. According to that report of 29 July, the physical and chemical parameters analysed do not exceed the limit values for discharge into surface waters.

The city's drinking water is safe - that has been confirmed by testing. On 27 July, 39 samples from the city network were analysed, all compliant with standards. On 30 July another 42 samples were taken, four of them from the Nerezi - Lepenec well system, again all clean.

This is where the circle closes

So: the river turned white in front of an entire city. Nobody broke a single rule. All measurements are within permitted limits. Nobody is responsible.

The inspectorate says water quality on this stretch of the Vardar depends on multiple factors - municipal and rainwater run-off, plus numerous business activities nearby - and that coordinated action by institutions is therefore needed. That is true. It is also a perfect description of a system in which responsibility is spread so evenly that it lands on nobody.

Skopje Mayor Orce Ǵorǵievski said there would be no tolerance if responsibility is established. Seven days later, there is no announcement of any responsibility established.

Final results from an accredited laboratory are expected on 4 August. Until then a few questions remain that need no laboratory: were samples taken from the soil and the riverbed sediment, what is the assessment of the impact on life in the river, and how long does it take to connect one patch of white foam to one specific discharge.

If on 4 August the results are again "within permitted limits", then the question becomes bigger than the Lepenec: what exactly has to happen to a river before somebody is found to have broken a regulation?